Benchmarks drift higher in early trade; Nifty tad below 17,800

The key equity indices were trading with decent gains in early trade. The Nifty traded tad below the 17,800 level. Metal, IT and PSU bank shares advanced while auto, oil & gas and realty stocks declined.

At 09:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 244.95 points or 0.41% to 60,530.98. The Nifty 50 index added 33.20 points or 0.19% to 17,797.80.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.42% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.39%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,704 shares rose, and 927 shares fell. A total of 113 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,559.96 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 639.82 crore in the Indian equity market on 7 February, provisional data showed.

The RBI policy review meeting began on 6 February and concludes today. The central bank is projected to raise the repo rate but at a slower pace. In its December monetary policy committee meeting, the RBI raised the policy repo rate by 35 basis points (bps) to 6.25%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharti Airtel declined 1.95%. The telecom major's consolidated net income surged 91.5% to Rs 1,588 crore on 19.9% increase in total revenues to Rs 35,804 crore in Q3 December 2022 over Q3 December 2021. On a consolidated basis, profit before tax jumped 67.6% year-on-year to Rs 4,359 crore in Q3 December 2022.

Hero MotoCorp fell 1.57%.The company reported net profit of Rs 711 crore in Q3 FY23, compared to net profit of Rs 686 crore posted in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations rose 1.9% to Rs 8031 crore. The company declared interim dividend of Rs. 65 per equity share.

Sobha shed 0.09%. The company reported net profit of Rs 31.8 crore in Q3 FY23, compared to net profit of Rs 61.4 crore posted in Q3 FY22. Total income rose to Rs 898 crore from Rs 699.9 crore.

Global markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell overnight acknowledged that inflation is declining, a sign the central bank may soon pause its rate hikes.

US stocks advanced on Tuesday, but trade was choppy as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about how long the central bank might need to tame inflation.

US inflation is starting to cool but the road ahead will likely be long and bumpy, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Tuesday, adding that stronger-than-expected economic data could bring more rate hikes.

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